Cartridge, ink jet print head and ink jet printer

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of ink jet printing technology. The cartridges, whose ink reservoir is in communication with the external environment through a venting hole, are subject to ink leakage when the external pressure changes significantly after ink filling. The present invention provides a cartridge ( 37 ) comprising: a cartridge body ( 4 ); a cartridge lid ( 15 ); and a soft member ( 101 ) between the cartridge lid ( 15 ) and the opening ( 38 ) of the cartridge body ( 4 ), when the cartridge lid ( 15 ) is mounted to the cartridge body ( 4 ), the ribs ( 23 ) on the cartridge lid ( 15 ) abut against the soft member ( 101 ) so that a sealing contact is formed therebetween to form an expansion space ( 25 ) able to contain all or most of the ink displaced from the ink reservoir. The present invention also provides an ink jet print head and an ink jet printer.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A cartridge, comprising:
 a cartridge body with an opening and an ink flow aperture, wherein an ink reservoir for containing ink is formed within the cartridge body; and   a cartridge lid for covering the opening, wherein the cartridge lid is provided with an ink filling hole and a venting hole; and   wherein   the cartridge lid is further provided with ribs on the inner surface thereof; and   the cartridge further comprises a soft member provided between the cartridge lid and the opening and overlapping the venting hole but not overlapping the ink filling hole, when the cartridge lid is mounted to the cartridge body and covers the opening, the ribs abut against the soft member so that a sealing contact is formed between the ribs and the soft member and an expansion space is formed between the cartridge lid and the soft member, wherein the expansion space has an inlet through which ink is able to flow into the expansion space from the ink reservoir, and the expansion space is in communication with external environment through the venting hole, wherein the expansion space is an expansion circuit which is circuitous.   
     
     
         2 . The cartridge according to  claim 1 , wherein the cartridge comprises a porous member and/or a fibrous member inserted into the ink reservoir, and the soft member is sized to be housed accurately into the cartridge body, just above the porous member or the fibrous member and is provided with an open space in correspondence with the ink filling hole. 
     
     
         3 . The cartridge according to  claim 2 , wherein the soft member is provided with two wings spaced apart at one end of the soft member to form the open space which extends up to the peripheral edge of the soft member. 
     
     
         4 . The cartridge according to  claim 2 , wherein the soft member is provided with a through-hole aligned with the ink filling hole. 
     
     
         5 . The cartridge according to  claim 1 , wherein the soft member is made of rubber. 
     
     
         6 . The cartridge according to  claim 5 , wherein the soft member is a plate-shaped member with a thickness of 1 mm to 2 mm. 
     
     
         7 . The cartridge according to  claim 1 , wherein the expansion space contains porous material. 
     
     
         8 . The cartridge according to  claim 1 , wherein the expansion space comprises a plurality of expansion chambers fluidly communicated through narrow communication passageways, and each expansion chamber is surrounded by the ribs connected to the cartridge lid and abutting against the soft member. 
     
     
         9 . The cartridge according to  claim 8 , wherein the ribs comprise two curvilinear ribs surrounding the venting hole. 
     
     
         10 . The cartridge according to  claim 8 , wherein two neighboring ribs are spaced apart from each other to form the narrow communication passageways. 
     
     
         11 . An ink jet print head, comprising a cartridge according to  claim 1 . 
     
     
         12 . The ink jet print head according to  claim 11 , wherein the ink jet print head is a thermal ink jet print head comprising a microfluidic device attached to the cartridge, the microfluidic device comprising:
 a plurality of resistors;   a plurality of ejection chambers disposed above the resistors and in fluid communication with the ink flow aperture; and   a nozzle plate covering the ejection chambers and provided with ejection nozzles for spraying ink from the ejection chambers.   
     
     
         13 . An ink jet printer, comprising an ink jet print head according to  claim 11 .